Five Things I’m Going to Miss About Boston

As I illuded to back on my 5th blogiversary post, Hubby and I have some big changes coming up in our lives. We’re leaving our beloved Boston and moving to Cincinnati. If you’re friends with me on FB or follow me on Instagram, you have known this for a while, but the move has been in the works for almost 6 months now.

If you’ve been reading for a while, or have read my about page, you know that Hubby and I transferred to Boston from Cincinnati. We moved here for work and we’re moving back for work. The company that we both work for is headquartered in Cincinnati and the only other plant with engineers is here in Boston. When we moved here in 2007, we thought it would only be for 2-3 years and then we would go back to Cincinnati. I’m glad our stint on the East Coast extended to 5+ years.

So with bittersweet emotions, the big move date has arrived. My last day in the office is tomorrow and then I’m driving to Ohio on Thursday. I’m looking forward to my new job, re-kindling old friendships, and having a house with a yard (and a grill!) again, but I’m definitely going to miss Boston. I made a list of five things I’m going to miss the most.

Everything Boston

Living in a big city has spoiled us. Hubby and I share one car. Since we work at the same place, we commute to work together. Other than our daily drive to work, we really don’t use the car that often. We can easily get to 3 different T-stops within an 8 minute walk from our front door. We can be downtown on the train in 20 minutes and can even take the commuter rail to work if we want.

I love being able to walk to shops, the grocery store, the post office, restaurants, bars, and anything else I could need. Sure it isn’t as fun when it’s cold or rainy, but I love having the option.

Moving to Ohio is going to require that we buy another car and get accustomed to driving everywhere again. It’s also going to require me to control the inner food snob inside of me. We are very spoiled to live in a great food city and we definitely take advantage of it.

I’m also going to miss some of the great things the city has to offer. I have some great memories of going to Red Sox games at Fenway, Marathon Monday (my favorite day of the year in Boston), absorbing art/culture at a variety of shows, beer festivals, The Freedom Trail, and many other things that Boston has to offer that I just can’t think of right now.

The Ocean

I never thought I cared about the ocean that much. But having lived near it for five years, I really grew an appreciation for it. I’m not even a big beach goer, but there’s just something about the sound of crashing waves that is relaxing in a way that nothing else is.

Even the smell of the ocean is intoxicating. I work up in the north shore. I can see the ocean from work and often go to lunch at restaurants overlooking the water.

Being close to other things

I grew up in the Midwest, so huge expansive states are nothing new to me. In fact, I like to joke about how you can drive from one end of most states in the East Coast to the other on one tank of gas. Rhode Island you can almost miss completely. But having a bunch of small states, each with a variety of offerings, definitely has it’s advantages.

Hubby and I tried to take advantage of everything the East Coast had to offer. We took day or weekend trips to Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York. Big cities and small. For sight seeing or just relaxing. We did it all. One of my favorite things to do is take the train to New York (with a bottle of wine in hand) and just enjoy the trip.

HC Studios and Marina

This might sound silly. but I’ve had an epiphany about my hair this year. I started coloring it red, which is really high maintenance, but I love it and it’s worth the effort. When I decided to start coloring my hair, I chose a salon based on recommendations (and it doesn’t hurt that they serve beer/wine/cocktails at the salon).

I got really lucky with the stylist since I just went with whoever was available the first time around. Marina cuts and colors my hair and it’s like we’re kindred spirits. I always look forward to my time in her chair because I know it’s going to be fun and my hair is going to look amazing.

I also took a blow dryer workshop at the salon and learned SO much about how to style my hair with just a blow dryer and a brush. That might sound silly to some, but it has made a world of difference in the time it takes me to do my hair and how it looks. I’m sad to be leaving HC Studios and Marina, and am hoping to find someone I love just as much in Cincinnati.

Friends and Family

I remember when we moved here and realized for the first time in my adult life that making friends can be tough. When I moved to college and then to Cincinnati after college, I was in a situation where everyone around me was trying to make new friends because we were all in an unfamiliar place. But when you pack up and move at age 25, other 25 year olds aren’t out looking for new friends. People already have their group of friends and don’t need to pick you up necessarily.

At the time, I was very active on a couple online forums and had started introducing myself to other Boston users to start to form some online relationships. Some of those relationships turned into real friendships that I still have today (that’s how I met Cara, in fact). I’ve also made some greatfriends through blogging here in Boston.

Lucky for us, Hubby’s college roommate lived in the Boston area at the time, so he helped introduce us to a lot of his friends and within a few months, we started to have friends. That was five years ago. At this point in my life, I can honestly say that the group of friends I have right now is like nothing I’ve had before. They’re like my family and it’s going to be really tough not seeing them all on a regular basis while I’m in Ohio. I’m sure I’ll make new friends again, but I sure am going to miss my Brookline crew.

I’m also going to miss my brother, sister-in-law, nephew, and niece. They live in the suburbs and are the first in our family to have kids. It’s been great being able to see them on a regular basis and be a part of their lives. Thank goodness for technology these days so that will continue, but the in person interactions will definitely decrease.

As I said, Hubby and I are both excited about this new chapter in our lives. Boston has been great to us and I look forward to many return trips in the future!

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I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. (more)

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